


Just In Case

by MonstruousKitty



Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Adopted Sibling Relationship, Angst, Enemies to Lovers, Found Family, Hurt/Comfort, I don’t see cannon, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Nightmare is a dick, Rating May Change, Tags May Change, We don't know her, but they were never enemies per se
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-27
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-13 10:53:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,749
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29027505
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MonstruousKitty/pseuds/MonstruousKitty
Summary: Between the small lapses in time where he is in control of his own body he makes a decision. Saying goodbyes to the people that hate his guts and successfully get rid of the thing that’s eating at his mind once and for all might be more of a pain in the ass than he originally thought.
Relationships: Clay | Dream & GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF), Clay | Dream & Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF), Clay | Dream & Sapnap (Video Blogging RPF), Clay | Dream & Technoblade (Video Blogging RPF), Clay | Dream/Technoblade (Video Blogging RPF)
Comments: 46
Kudos: 405





	1. Curious and curiouser,

It's a curious thing where they are, where he is now. Isolated from the rest, up high in the mountains of cold and snow with his oldest kid and the newest addition to the bunch, sharing a meal with the most powerful person in that world calmly, warmed pleasantly by the heart of their home.

Said warrior sits in front of Techno and they seem totally enthralled by their conversation that he isn't sure it's about the best alloys to use for daggers anymore; the kid - he can't call him anything but a kid in his head now - talks with his whole body, hands shaping his words and freckled, maskless, expressions accentuating his emotions even more so than his eyes.

And while the shock of having the mask lay innocently on the table- was it made of bone or ceramic? he couldn't tell - it was even more shocking his son's expression. Ruby eyes appraised his rival with tenderness only reserved for his brothers and Phil himself, his whole body showing calm content, his features softening around the chat they were having and an air of warmth surrounding him as he too moved his hands to express his words.

All in all they both painted in body the warmth that surrounded them.

Taking a glance at Ramboo he noted he was half listening to the pair beside him and half lost into his own lunch, the ghost of a constant smile finally lighting up his features - he was filling out healthy he noted, now that they reminded him to eat -

So he enjoyed this curious encounter, was grateful even for the way that Techno had told him that Dream was going to drop by noon to eat with them - shocked as he was with the soft spark of excitement he saw in the pinkette as the words left his mouth - and made sure to thank the elder gods for the young Admin to present himself with dessert and mask in hand - a shy disposition that contrasted heavily with the warrior he had fought alongside with.

It was curious alright, even if something screamed _wrong_ inside his mind.

____

"I'm leaving now"

He lifts his eyes from the dagger he was polishing - it was going to be Ramboo´s he just had to select the enchantments - to see Dream going up the stairs in a lazy way - he had been helping Techno take care of their horses so why his face was softly blushed?-

"Ey, thought you could spare some more time with us, kid"

"I honestly wish I could but there's a time-sensitive potion that's gonna need my whole attention soon" And his shoulders shrugged lazily - it _seemed_ lazy but his body moved in a way that no energy was wasted in the movements, as if existing had to be done in careful and though-out steps -

"Then I guess we'll see ya ´round Dream"

"Thank you Philza'' and the small smile is sweet yet there something in the air that makes him fold forward a little bit more, alertness slowly taking hold of his mind "Could you tell Techno to read this as well?" and a book is being presented to him, worn and scratched and very well used by the looks of the yellowing corners of some of the pages "Tell him it's me calling for the favor or he might not want to read it" he wants to tell him that Techno has already read everything they own thrice the times those books should be read but something inside the kid's eyes settles badly on his gut. They don't shine properly, like the sun doesn't settle on the pupils and the sclera like it should.

He nods regardless "Yeah, I'll give it to him. Be safe kid"

Dream smiles at him and cold sweeps through his body as the wind ruffles their hair. With a soft movement the mask lies on his hands again and stays there for a few seconds. The kid watches their land carefully - is like mourning, those eyes, like taking everything he can into his eyes before departing, he looks like saying goodbye with his eyes, and his wings resettle behind him betraying his nervousness - before the leather clasp is secured and the warm vestiges of the sun are lost to the cold off white of the mask.

"Goodbye Philza, take care of them!"

And so Dream turns and starts walking away from him.

He looks at the retreating figure for a few seconds before his eyes lock to the book on his hands once again

Something is wrong or will go wrong.

He flicks the book open and skims through the first pages lightly, information jotted down in a neat script - the way people use when their own handwriting is shit and they are trying to make it understandable, he knows it well.

Something about the body moving away from them - _him_ \- was wrong.

Some pages are worn down, others have small pieces of pages glued on them with drawings and equations and arrows connecting everything in a chaotic fashion. He furrows his brows as he jumps a few more pages and the door closes behind him.

Skimming the pages he gathers that the chapter is about chances of something occurring, the next ones speak about traps. He stops in the fourth chapter where the pages are messier, like the writer was running out of time or patience -or both-, more drawings and schemes appearing at the margins and some symbols scattered with descriptions that spoke of galactic runes and intricate paragraphs of blessings?

He is reminded of Fundy and Tubbo, both kids babbling so long about demons and how they were their hunters - he swallows the bitter taste of self alienated family -.

Chapter six cuts abruptly, leaving registers of consequences on the body without a resolution nor a context - the words were not registering, something like a fim washed over his mind, the alarms blaring and unheard-.

And a journal starts.

There's a dreadful feeling of foreboding that starts nipping at the corners of his mind the second he reads the first line

_"Creating the world might have been a mistake, Nightmare has bound me to the soil."_


	2. How do you notice the world has gone mad?

He barely registers his own fingers against his lips, chasing unconsciously the ghostly warmth that's sure to haunt him for the next days - and weeks and months and every second of his existence . His pace is subdued, half of his mind in memories and half with every step he takes as he goes back home.

Techno has always been good at fights and winning them in one way or another. But this-this ambush has thrown him into a war of inner turmoil that has left him shaking to his very foundations.

It would be easy to let the moment slide, to let it sink into the cold of the snow and leave it there to melt, freeze or disappear come morning, easy and what he probably should  _ do  _ \- but then something else of that portion of his life would come to haunt him. The palm of a rough hand cupping his face, the softness of long eyelashes against the high of his cheekbones , the warmth of a body against his own hands in a delicate hold that is such a far cry from what he is used to that he worries his heart will never stop weeping at the lose.

Lost behind his eyes he comes to alertness slowly when someone calls his name. He lifts his heavy head as he feels the weight of the ghostly presence engulf him and takes a few precious seconds for his brain to register and process what he sees.

Phil is running towards him with a book on his hands.

He wonders briefly if Phil would be able to see the imprint of another on his lips, see the way his core has suffered, imploded and expanded in just a few minutes of having another be near him.

He stops wondering when the pure unadulterated panic that grips his father's face finally comes to him.

________

_ "It's mirrored. The way conflict is taining the world appears on me. It hurts a little, hopefully things will settle." _

________

"Techno!" 

His father is frantic and clutching a book on his right hand when they meet. Millions of things pass through his head at the sight of panic in one of the strongest people he knows.

"Techno we need to get to Dream  _ now _ " and they make a start to the main building running with the thrum of the hot panic that has taken hold of the blond "Get healing and regen" his voice is heavy and strained and he can't make head of what's going on, even if he dutifully follows his command "grab GApples if you see them, put on your armor-"

"Phil"

But it falls in deaf ears as the main doors are open with too much force, violently shaking against the walls weak before the beast that has gotten into his father.

"I'll go fetch Ramboo, he's gonna have to teleport us as far as he can and I'll fly us-"

"PHIL!"

________

_ "He's getting strong. I'm not sure if he feeds off the emotions, the blood or the carnage but with all of the battles it really doesn't matter, does it? My body hurts more today, Bad said it might be stress, I'm not sure if I should tell them. Would they think it was just an excuse?" _

________

Blue eyes stare at him for a brief second before they close and he takes a deep breath. He hands him the book opened half way past and as soon as he grasps it in his own hands he departs towards Ramboo's room throwing a "read and prepare" as he disappears into the building.

His eyes drop to the open page and-

_ "He can feed it too, he can feed it too what the hELL" _ \- the writing is messier than the others, lines thick with the pressure the author gave the pen, lines jagged and frantic  _ "I don't think he knew I was aware but I saw how Wilbur's eyes glowed as he gave him the TNT. I couldn't move I couldn't move and that motherfucker touched his arm and-" _ wet smudges obscured part of it, tiny droplets the epicenter of his world breaking once again _ "- and he almost touched Tommy too but he left, he left." _

_ What was this? _

_ "They killed Tubbo. The Earth drank his blood and it was acid on my arm. Techo killed him. I'm afraid he might use him to poison me further." _

He began passing the pages in quick succetion, his heart constricting more and more at every passage he glanced over-

_ "He made me zone out? I can't remember anything, I was going to Bad's to talk to him about Nightmare but then I came to my room and I'm pretty sure it's not the same day" _

" _ Fundy tried to fucking exorcise me, I could feel us fully separate. He is mad now and the world hurts more." _

_ "It hurts. They won't stop fighting and it hurts" _

_ "He is switching more often and for longer periods of time, I lost the whole fucking week and I can't even remember where the asshole went or what the hell he did. My head is killing me" _

_ "I threw up blood this morning. There was black stuff in it." _

He swallows spit with difficulty, his hands feel clammy under the cold sweat.

_ "There are bloody veins in the world now. I think my body can't keep up with the corruption. I don't know _how_ my body can keep up with it as it is, it hurts so much" _

_ "Veins have started appearing on my arms, they look like my scars from Lightning. I have started to loose weight and he is mad, not my fault I was bounded to the fucking world, wasn't I? " _

_ "Nausea, lack of appetite, black vomit, bloody nose, the black veins are increasing and getting thicker, migraines have also increased in intensity, dizzy spells. Might be pregnant with the devil, who knows" _

_ "Doc says it's a bad prognosis, that I must remove the stress from my life so I don't start with cognitive and memory problems. Nobody knows about possessions nor Dreamons so It doesn't really matter. can't remove myself now and leave the world dying, can I?" _

His body moves, his eyes are glued to the pages. His hands reach blindly in the familiarity of his house, slow but sure. His heart beats rapidly and the logs in the heart in the center of the room can't reach him enough to chase the cold dread that's making its home in the marrow of his bones.

_ "I've started writing everything I remember about my life, just in case. I'm going to hide that thing in my room, enchant that and this book so the asshole can't read them." _

_ "Punz saw me faint today. He caught me so I told him I was his fair maiden now and he laughed. I missed his laugh." _

_ "Sapnap and George hate me now. I just wanted them safe-" _

_ "I can't remember where my home is. I know it was in a mountain biome and that I definitely had one, that I had a green couch that Sap hated-" _

_ "A lady sent me some files today. I can't remember from where do I know her but she said that I should rise before taking Nightmare down. Don't know about the rise up stuff put the info seems legit and-" _

_ "I woke up to a slaughtered village up in the east. I don't think Night was helping them from a raid-" _

_ "I'm so, so sorry I willingly gave him control today, I'm sorry. It hurt too much. I'm sorry I just couldn't deal with it anymore. It hurt to breathe and move and I can't sleep well anymore and I don't feel anything when he takes over anymore and I just needed a break but there's so much blood I'm sorry-" _

The paragraph blurs drastically and he chokes on a sob, his lungs freeze and the shock is dangerously close to make him meet lunch again.

If there's a separation, if there's a possession, who was the person they had lunch with? that sat between them and shared and talked with them with so much care? 

How could he not see the unnaturally easy way that Ramboo carried himself in the presence of a man he still is not fully comfortable with? Hell, the way any of them realised something was wrong?-

What color were the eyes of the man that has gotten his heart in their clutch?

A hand settles on his shoulder and he turns to hide his face against his dad's chest, slightly wetting it with his tears.

"We will help him Tech, I promise"

He takes a shuddering breath before pushing away from his fathers, harshly wiping his tears away. He hands him the book silently before finally meeting his eyes but the older presses it more so against his palm.

"How? This is clearly something beyond our scope of knowledge, I don't know _ what _ he is" and ignores the how Ramboo's jumps slightly at that "and this seems far more intricate than just stabbing and chugging a potion"

"We will prepare and go help him. The Dream that came here and had lunch was  _ our _ Dream at the very least we might be able to help him exorcise this Nightmare character while he has control or something"

"Who 's Nightmare?"

And they both turned to the enderman hybrid. He looked anxious and definitely worried, mismatched brows curved in a frown.

"A Dreamon I think" and Phil sighs heavily, patting his shoulders before moving towards the cabinet to probably keep looking for the items they might need.

His hands feel cold and clammy as he drags his hand through his hair, waving the book weakly to the teen.

"Dream might be possessed and something may or may not go very wrong very soon"

"So this is like a rescue mission?" and the kid pulls at his jacket over his shoulders properly -It was made with thick and sturdy leather coated in water repellent savia so he wouldn't get hurt- and grabs the bag he must have placed on the floor before making his way next to Phil and opening it.

And as Phil began stocking the things inside of it with a soft 'thank you' he too resumed the searching, less frantic and a little more centered.

He took a glance at the book in his hand and flipped to the first page. They were going to save Dream. No matter what.


	3. When you are the only one left standing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Child, are you there?

He wasn't human like his (ex) brothers.

He wasn't a hybrid, even though he had been given a boon by the endermen.

He wasn't a non-human like some of his (ex) friends.

He was a creature that shouldn't have come to existence, a monster, a mistake. Without the people he loved around him, himself distancing from the few that still stomached talking to him - perhaps to spare them when he ultimately died, perhaps so the hurts lessened somewhat- he could feel himself drifting.

He had experienced this drifting before when he was young and his father had first laid a hand on him. He remembered (truly, unlike so many things he left to the darkness of his mind) the way he had felt like floating and the way a big thread had snapped away from his body, as if he was tethering to fall through an infinite precipice.

It was the day he was forced to accept a boon from a man - it was a bad disguised curse and the stranger seemed too desperate for it to be anything but bad- and the day when he discovered he wasn't so human.

He stopped being a lot of things that day: a human, a son, a person,  _ Clay _ .

He started being many things too: a mistake, a monster, a curse, a  _ Nightmare _

And he lived as he could and ran until his feet bled haunted by the whispering of the thing passed onto him. He ran as the creature screamed at him to let him in with the reigns of his body. He ran until his name was lost to the paths he made and he had to take a new one.

He ran and chose to be the counterpart of the thing living inside of him. He chose good Dreams instead of Nightmares.

He ran and hid, lied and escaped. Stole, exchanged and won until he had to hide his face to the world.

He ran until he could no more and awoke to the melody of a lullaby, to warmth he had never experienced, to a hope he had not allowed himself to have.

He awoke to his first real father figure, Bad, and to a chance to be a person again.

And he guessed he never stopped running, now that he stares at the photograph of the members of the server, of this world he is bound to, of the world they keep corrupting goaded by Nightmare, now that the finished potion laid glowing on the table and at the ready before him.

He glanced at the clock in the room he was in - he had entered a woodland mansion and made it his base, the mobs and creatures of the night wouldn't dare to go near him - and sighed.

He could feel a growing bubble of  _ fear-determination-rage _ moving across the world and he guessed it was the butchers trying to find him, scout his hiding spot or whatever they were doing, guided by Tommy and Quackity.

Soon he would have to move and go towards the spot where everything was going to go down.

He would miss his former friends terribly - he wasn't sure if things like him, broken and alien could survive what he was going to put himself through -and he wished he could have said goodbye to more people but neither the people were willing to talk to him nor his body could handle more magic usage.

_ He had downed two weaken potions to numb the pain and downed three painkillers just to be able to function properly so he could go to Techno's, but the effects had long passed and his body was again at the brink of breaking if he moved too much _ .

Saying he was tired was an understatement.

But at least he was one item down on his bucket list and had managed to pass his "Just in Case" book to Phil - he wasn't stupid, Phil would be too curious and fast on understanding. If something went to shit he would be the one to finish the job ... hopefully.

All in all he was okay.

And everyone would be okay after tonight, once he was gone -if, and it was a big if, he survived he was still going to go away, to solitude or away from the world at large he didn't know -

The wind called his name and he stood up. Bottle in hand, photo in an inner pocket of his pants he left the mansion to nurture a small fire into the night.


	4. And the vagaries of time wait for them to hold you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> :)

His hands were sweaty.

The wind was a little colder than ideal, making him regret not putting a jacket or a sweater or  _ anything else _ under his armor.

Tubbo fared no better than him, even if he was out of his presidential suit and in more adequate clothes for the hunt and fight they had embarked upon since earlier that day.

(He didn't think any of them were ready for what they were going to do, but it had to be done, he reminded himself)

Their group stood making final adjustments to their armor and weapons, making sure they had stocked enough potions and enough provisions. 

Ponk kept adjusting his mask every few seconds and Jack just leaned on one of the columns patiently waiting (his hands were shaking due to the cold of the nerves he didn't want to know)

He checked his messages and huffed anxiously. The scouts hadn't sent anything yet-which was understandable since there still was a whole ass hour when Dream was supposed to make his way back to Sam and Punz's place but still. The moon was slowly making her way across the skies and the cold seemed to settle around them sending shivers through the four of them.

"Do you think this is okay?"

He glanced at Ponk, who was staring at the floor, hands twitching against each other. He looked pale and his mouth was set into a firm line.

"What?"

Tubbo stopped fiddling with his helmet "Do you mean hunting him down or...?"

"The whole thing, actually" He gulped loudly and lift his glance for a short second before falling back to the floor "I mean, We don't really have permission to get _ him _ into the prison cuz Sam's away or whatever"

"I'm sure he would understand"

"The order came from the Vicepresident a _ nd _ the President" his voice rose in volume but he knew he sounded uncertain regardless "He has to abide to that and besides Dream has probably fucked his relationship with Sam big Time already"

"And with Punz, and with Puffy, and with Bad and and and" finished Jack motioning his hand in a circular motion accentuating his point by slowly leaning towards Ponk "At this point would be a miracle if he still had friends on the SMP!"

The young man stood silent for a while, eyes still on the floor, back slightly hunched and hands tightly gripped against each other.

"It will be okay Ponk! We are a mighty group of warriors and this time that Bitchblade won't be interfering!" and even with him raising his sword high and flexing a little the only answer was a tight smile and nervous eyes shifting up and down.

They fell quiet.

___________

A quiet beep made him yelp, jumping a little from the sudden noise along Tubbo who was leaning on him as they waited. Their communicators buzzing or beeping as the same message was received.

> he's on route

Time to move.

Standing up they shared a look with each other before starting to move towards the rendezvous point. 

They had spread in four groups to make sure they somewhat had a good chance for enclosing on Dream, to prevent him from escaping or at least to lower his defenses and his group was the first line of direct fire after the Scouts made their thing.

They moved quickly through the paths they had been marking and memorised for two weeks and checked the traps that were to get activated as soon as they finished passing (a feat they all had to pitch on since they couldn't directly ask Sam for help as he was away with Punz on a 'self care trip').

< Team awesome on position

Seconds ticked by before their communicators pinged and they hastily muted them

> Team Arson is on position

> Team Wildcats ready

And after a few seconds more (would they win?- of course they would, they were definitely more than him, they would get him and throw Dream into a prison and they would be free and he could do whatever he wanted and be with Tubbo and-)

> Operation is a go

And as soon as he finished reading a barrage of breaking glass and liquid spilling and splashing was heard close to their position and they had no more time to think, jumping over the small barack and behind the first defense, Ponk and him loading the crossbows with weakness arrows and Tubbo and Jack with explosive rocket launchers.

His mind only registered a figure stumbling towards the center of the clearing they had prepared, no armor and sluggishly taking an axe of their inventory before he flexed his finger and his first arrow made its way into Dream's body.

He saw him stumble backwards against the force of the arrow and then hell broke loose.

Tommy had the sudden realization that this was real and as he passed his crossbow to Purpled as the rest of the groups jumped into the clearing and relocated once more, the determination he had been grasping between his teeth started to dissipate, yet he never stopped running.

The night was illuminated with the explosion of the fireworks and he rammed Dream from the side with his shoulders, his teeth clacked against each other due to the force but he was the only one to make in to the floor as the Admin seemed to jump towards where the push sent him and gracefully rolled and immediately jumped over Niki that had been trying to get him with an axe. Planting his boots firmly against the floor he made himself go for the green man as he catapulted himself off of the girl's back, sending her and Fundy against the floor.

Dream jumped and evaded and dodged everything they threw at him, escaping more than engaging directly with them. Blocking Ponk and Jack easily and throwing them against HBomb, as he pivoted and shoved the handle of his enchanted axe violently against Fundy's stomach, making the hybrid choke and crumble becoming a mere stool for Dream as he kept climbing over people and attacking through the air.

The explosions seemed to not even shake him a little bit and he felt fury rise on him.

Purpled was thrown against some bushes, crossbows flying away into the darkness and soon Jack met the same fate. He threw himself on the floor to not get knocked out by their bodies and tried fervently to get closer to the man but the asshole was moving like it was nothing!

They were definitely landing punches and blows but it was not enough, he wasn't slowing down even with all the weakness, blindness and ALL of the -NESS they had thrown at him! The scouts were to make sure to tell them if he had eaten any gapples and they hadn't so why was this man still standing?

The particles were clearly dancing around him, so he was affected by something, but he kept moving across the field, more towards the center. All the traps would go unused and they kept firing everything they got. Blades and axes gleaming in the night as they clashed with the awful fucking netherite axe Dream still had on his hands.

he made to the dancing-like figure, sword raised and thrusting it against the body with too much force only for a boot to come down against the middle of the handle and thrusting it against the floor, his hand letting go before his fingers got crushed.

Someone grabbed him by the scruff of his shirt and thrust him backwards. He stumbled before falling on his ass just to lift his gaze and see Eret disappear in a puff , all of his things scattered on the floor. Before he could meet the eary glance of the mask Quackity was jumping into the fray, filled with ire and screaming about all of the things that Dream had done.

He scurried over to Eret's sword and moved backwards to safety to try and breath when he glanced to his side and saw no one.

Stilling he glanced around fully and he only saw Niki, Fundy, George and Sapnap still standing and in full armor. He stared for a few seconds to the meager few that were still standing before panic set in and he swiveled violently around, eyes desperately searching for- for

"Tommy, watch out!"

He turned to see Tubbo clenching his arm and looked at him with fear before a sharp cold sliced against his back and searing hot pain took its place making him cry out as he crashed against the ground.

He turned around and saw the twitching figure of Dream, standing powerful, big red splotches across his body. He choked in fear, eyes locked on the childish smile, dread making his breathing pick.

_ He _ took a step towards him.

Was he going to die? He only had one life left, he didn't want to die.

As if time lost its meaning he saw as Dream lifted the axe and turned his body preparing for a final blow.

He gripped the handle of his discarded sword, still frozen in fear.

_ He didn't want to die _ .

His eyes filled with tears and the figure before him became blurry, His breathing stuttered and he choked on a sob (the sound still made it out, but what was his cry against the symphony of yelling that surrounded them)

He didn't want to  _ die _ , he wanted to live and be free with Tubbo, he wanted to live without fear of retaliation, he wanted to have a  _ life _ -

The axe began his descent and-

He wanted his Dad, he wanted Wilbur alive and singing his stupid songs to him, he wanted Techno and being cared for in his silent stupid brooding way, he wanted his Dad, he wanted a hug, he wanted his family-

_ You will be okay Tommy _

It was sudden and it caught him off guard. The voice was soft and caring, the voice was so fucking familiar it made him ache in a way that made his stomach lurch. He knew that voice, that whisper, why was he hearing-

"TOMMY, NOW!"

The moment was broken with a start and his hands thrusted the sword forwards without thinking, movement only possible due to his muscle memory only registering after that Quackity was the owner of the interruption when he felt the metal imbed itself into something soft.

He startled again, blade moving with him and his brain finally processed the way that Dream was no longer facing him but Quackity.

His heart stopped for a few seconds when he saw half of the blade- the blade he was wielding- buried in Dreams body. Dirty blond hair (stained with blood and the remains of the potions glistening on it) swaying softly at the residual movement.

Standing before the Admin Quackity stood, his own blade fully inside the man, face filled with something (it was malice and mania, he had seen them on Wilbur when he started going off, he had felt it come from  _ Dream  _ once-) before it melted in realization and a smile started breaking his face in two.

Nausea hit him and his legs trembled under him, half kneeling half crouching, sure that the crossed weapons were the only thing keeping the Admin upright, as his knees had bent slightly.

The whole body lost its rigidness and his head simply fell backwards limply, an inverted smiley face right in front of him and a garbled cry left his throat unheard under the cry of victory that ripped from Quackity's mouth.

Liquid warmth started coating his hands and his stomach lurched violently when red started slipping from under the mask and he heard the gurgle of the blood gushing from within Dream's mouth.

Tears came unbidden once more and he saw with blurred vision as Quackity ripped his sword violently and with far more force than necessary from inside of the Admin's body, blood spraying and chunks of viscera painting the floor.

The rest of the butchers and the fighters stood around catching their breath, starting to nurse their wounds (the majority was staring, shocked at the success, unable to process what they accomplished, unable to process the consequences)

He couldn't look-

he had waited so long to have his revenge, to be able to defeat Big D, the Big Mean, the final villain-

_ He couldn't look _

Blue eyes started falling on the floor- they were following the red that kept flowing, there was so much red- and the sounds started drifting into the wind.

He was going into shock, he realised. Cold sweat making itself known , teeth chattering as if the place had gotten colder, was it the adrenaline that was running out? Or was it really cold-

"Naughty, Naughty children"

He startled violently  _ again _ , moving the blade around and the body to quiver above him. The voice was Dream's, more gravelly and with an edge that made him far more sicker and head lighted. The body weight on his hands shifted and his eyes locked in an arm that snaked around the Admin's back as if to give it more support- "Looks like the naughty,  _ naughty _ children have broken my favorite toy"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for the wait and thank you so much for the support ;-;


	5. Will you succumb under their cries?Will you succumb under their cries?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Child, can you hear us?

Lucky, lucky him. The russian roulette that often was life and that seemly loved fucking him over managed to land him somewhere  _ nice _ .

The sad excuse of a human being that he was using at the moment had been a truly utterly and disastrous  _ pain _ . No aspirations in life, no true force behind his actions, no will since before he had been cursed with him. The only thing the sack of meat had been good at was passing him onto the boy.

The  _ boy _ . 

The tiny creature that apparently didn't even know what he was! Outstanding, wonderfully loaded with the most deliciously  _ dangerous potential _ and the father and his sorry excuse for a vessel were handing him in a silver plate!

Glancing at him behind almost blind eyes he saw the too thin body and obviously unkempt appearance of the kid but no matter, once the transfer was complete he would make sure to start pressuring the kid to get food by any means necessary and to get some resources for himself.

The exchange was taking too much time, the father trying to get more money out of the interaction and-  _ oh _ , could it be?- but his vessel grew desperate enough and lunged for the child’s forehead both crashing towards the floor and sinking the almost skeletal hands against the kid’s temple- and  _ they screamed _ , oh joyous how it tore through their throats as he made their blood  _ boil _ **_._ **

The dirty and broken nails sunk deep into the child’s skull and as the first bead of blood came gushing out of it, as the blood crown started knitting itself across the skin he took the final bite out of the man’s core and forced himself against the barriers of the creature.

_ Oh. _

Encircling the core as soon as he saw it he closed off the direct connection and implanted his own mark, diverting a meager amount to his own force- and he felt saliva built in his metaphorical mouth when he thought on all of that magic and strength and pure power that would be his once he broke the tiny pathetic mind. It was like touching a live wire with how the rush left him heady and how he could  _ feel _ the bindings expanding, not even bothering with the eager piece of mental blocks he could feel and observe as the transfer finished. Any child with a father willing to kill his son for money would be traumatised enough for mental blocks.

The body he was in writhed in agony as he made himself known across the very marrow of the bones, sinking his presence in the very essence of what constituted the kid. He tried to trash desperately, clawing at the body that was crushing him with his dead weight- because that was exactly what the man had ended as, a dead body after a dead life. He was filled with glee seeing at the sunken eyes, the glazed over stare and the blood coming from every available tissue. 

An appropriate ending for a dead beat meat bag.

Weak hands managed to throw the body to the side and he relaxed into the unconscious of the boy, he could do with a nap before starting taking over the kid.

Lucky, lucky him.

_

Something was inside.

His breathing was desperate, a whistling sound coming from his mouth as he lay trembling on the floor with blood- he wasn't sure if it was his or the man’s but there  _ was blood on his body, he could smell it he could taste it- _

A slap startled him out of his panic, the sharp pain sending his head in the opposite direction-

There was something inside him-

“You should have died, boy”

His eyes moved with his face and focused on the figure of sir lifting himself from the crouch - he hit him and that meant he was in trouble and that he would be hit again- and leaning over the stranger’s body- body because he was  _ dead _ ,  _ dead after touching him, after making him burn, after he saw into eyes that were dead-dead-dead- _

“Bastard doesn't have anything good on him. Stand up boy, we are leaving”

And sir grabbed the man’s jacket and started walking away. He was supposed to follow but he felt so tired. He still lay trembling and his eyes were blurry, limbs weak, so weak- he was  _ so tired- _

“ _ Please _ ”

It came more like a warbled sound rather than a word, his throat  _ hurt _ . He could feel the tears finally falling, mixing with the drying blood. The thing inside him was heavy, he felt  _ wrong- _

“I’m not going to repeat myself kid, stand up. We. Are. Leaving” 

And he tried, his limbs barely moving and him grunting with effort as dizziness engulfed him and he tried- he really did but his body couldn’t respond to him and his cries- but ultimately failed and he could  _ feel _ something hot and  _ mean _ come towards him, like angry lava dripping against skin, closer and closer until it made contact in him and it hurt-

“KID”

A sharp pain made his way across his neck and something started constricting his throat and he  _ couldn’t breath _ and the pain was too much-  _ too much and the thing inside him grew heavier and heavier and he couldn't breath, stop, no more, please no mORE- _

His eyes opened and saw a clear and sunny sky.

Ever since that day he told nobody his name, leaving it behind him along with cold and death painted red on the floor. He told nobody at how the cleric of his town had cried “monster!” at him when he saw him alive-  _ “you should have died, boy”  _

at how some people threw stones at him, cutting him and making him cry out with an almost unrecognisable voice-

-at how his body, beat down and at the brink of collapse dragged itself across the step slide of the mountain, cutting his palms on the sharp stone, pain lessening as he climbed and the cold numbed his body

-at how the wind encouraged him to keep going until he was up- _ up in the mountain- _

-at the way he  _ took a step and flew across the world in a second - _

He never told anybody how he never died that sunny day with the pleasant weather. He never told a soul how the thing inside him whispered sweet nothings at him as he heaved water out of his lungs. Never uttered a word of his life as a  _ monster _ , instead focusing on moving forward, forward and  _ away _ from the thing inside of him that taunted and talked at him, that told him truth in lies and lies in truth.

He never talked of the village that he painted in red, lost to time along his name.

He never told anybody about the thing inside of him.

_

Standing before all these people, the price of a well planned project finally wrapping up and dangling lifelessly on his arm, he felt a smile come unbidden to his face.

“Look at my poor boy, all tattered and ruined by the traitorous kids” 

He felt exhilarated as he felt the seal weakening and he let himself cackle loudly as he leaned down and grabbed the kid’s limp hand still holding the axe making sure to exaggerate the movement of his head as the mask moved across the clearing.

“All this poor child wanted was to be your friend!” he lifted his pitch and threw it behind his throat conveying the most tutting and fake tone he was sure was to rile some of the second class warriors before him “And what do you do? invade his lands and take it from him without knowing what he is!” slowly rising the weapon he guided the blade towards his vessel’s neck slowly, manic energy thrumming through him as he felt his bind go thicker and stronger “what  _ you _ , you absolutely empty head idiots, have been  _ doing to him ever since you joined _ ” and with a sharp movement he sliced the skin and the leather band that held the mask secure to the other’s face “but that’s why I’m here today, to reveal to you the consequences of your actions, to show you what has been blind to you by choice!, isn’t it right  _ Dreamy Boy _ ?”

He could feel everyone's gaze enraptured at the slow arch that the mask made as it slided down the pale face- the strong jaw far sharper than it should due to malnutrition, the softly parted lips that once were plush and pretty pink now covered and artistically painted with red as it dripped and blocked from view a good amount of the freckles, dark in contrast to the sickly pale. The mask made a dull thunk into the floor and he wanted to scream and shout to the seven winds at how wonderfully lovely their faces were!

He himself took a good look at the myriad of things going on his vessel’s face while he was at it, it had been a while since any of them had looked at a mirror so he indulged a little, taking the nail marks across his uncovered forehead and temples in such a shape it could not be anything by a curse, the odd lighting-like scars that moved and melded with the freckles and the weird scale like thing that tended to bloom under his eyes due to the boon.

Simply beautiful, even more so to him since he was the one building those strengths!

Quickly pulling he body upwards he plants a foot firmly against the blond kid chest -the awful little fuck that helped him and angered him in equal messures- and kicked him with a strenght unknown to him sending the poor bastard flying through the air. 

Taking the blade left behind for himself- and staining the floor even more with the pretty pretty red- he let he body finally fall in a heap on the floor, just like the lifeless doll he was.

The transfer would be finished soon and he would reing free.

But not before taking more bites out of others.

So reading his stance and purposely stepping on the body before him he rolled his shoulders and with a small- but oh so powerful!- kick he sent himself forward and straight against the beanie wearing idiot, planning on killing him as fast as he could in a twisted gift for his late vessel.

Nothing says thank you like revenge, right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> h̵e̷l̸l̴o̷?̷


	6. Will you rise across the skies?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Child, please answer

The second their feet made contact with something solid and the world stopped spinning Ramboo grabbed one of their arms in each hand and pressed his eyes tightly and reality warped again leaving the portal behind.

The second time he felt dirt beneath his boots he managed to shoot his hands forward and twist a little bit so he could catch Ramboo in his arms.

“It’s spinning, the world is spinning like a lot” the kid groaned as he lowered him towards the floor and gave him a few solid pats on his back.

“You did good kid” said Phil as he looked around him “Too good, actually, We are far closer than we thought”. A cold water bottle was handed to the teenager who took it with a weak smile and a soft thanks before taking a sip.

“No wonder it got you like this” judging by the mountains they were 30 minutes to the place “We really are close”

Ramboo's smile grew a little bit more but before he could say something a chilling scream was heard in the distance and they all tensed up immediately, waiting for a few seconds as if to see if anything came their way or any other noise reached their ears. 

Less than a second away an agonized shrill stopped their hearts for a brief moment.

Adrenaline started pulsing through their veins as fast as they ran towards the sound, worry and fear composing Ramboo and shooting them into motion.

They couldn’t be late, could they? There was still time when they left, enough for it to be safe, enough to block or at least aid on whatever Dream was doing.

But the sounds of metal clashing against metal, glass breaking and pained cries were still evident even in the dark of the forest. The obvious fight still kept the mobs away and hidden, as if whatever was in the clearing the coordinates led to was something far more dangerous than they could imagine.

_ What the hell was going on _ ?

_____

It is said that when something happens that surpasses us in any way, the reactions one might have widely vary.

So when it took a good minute for Sapnap to finally realise what had happened, that was ok. When he garbled a cry, unable to form words and forced to try to deal with the gargantuan task of sorting through the emotions going through his head, that was understandable. 

It was too when the full image finished processing in his brain and the limp, bloody and unmoving body of his best friend ever since childhood burned itself on his retinas and a sharp, suffocating cold got hold of his whole body. His legs moved by themselves and he swerved around other people, other  _ standing and alive _ people and throwing himself towards the stained and tattered green hoodie-

Dream was pretty, he thought high in delirium even if the figure blurred with his tears, fat droplets staining his cheeks in saline regret. He was pretty and cute and all the things Dream used to say to him and used to scream at people when he got in  _ those _ moods while he smothered his face with smooches, exaggerated and with the intent to embarass, like any self respecting brother would do. 

He was handsome just like Bad had told him so long ago, when they both had to clean up to meet a friend of his, in that tone of voice he often got whenever he was feeling fatherly-

He broke into a high wail, right from his lungs and seeped into the agony he suddenly flourished with a vengeance from within him- How was he going to tell Bad? How was he going to communicate to the man that cared for them with enough love to spare? How was he going to tell his  _ dad _ that one of his kids was  _ dead- dead by their own hands, dead by his own actions, dead, dead DEAD DEADEADEADEAD- _

His cries never faltered nor quieted as he collapsed over the man on his arms.

The man that was cold against him, cold and gone and dead-

____

The clearing was chaos.

Phil was the first to burst through the canopy, high above from the leaves and towards the darkness, spreading his wings in an effort to keep himself suspended to assess the situation.

Shouts of anger, hurt, desperation and alarm rang through the place, making an odd bubble of sound against the clashing of weapons and the flesh being torn. People were retreating and dashing forwards, off center, he saw the burnt orange of Fundy’s being thrown away against a blond kid as his eyes swept across the place.

And it was plain and simple, chaos.

His wings paused for a few seconds when he saw one fighter, full armor shining with power, sitting curled inwards themselves, frame visible shaking even from his position high above. Another one was half-standing next to him, back to each other and stance ready to defend. He recognised the flash of blue- George- and when he was to move and lower himself he caught  _ green _ . A recognisable green undwrr the body of what seemed to be Sapnap and his heart skipped some beats as he lost altitude and frantically tried to understand what was happening, eyes frantically going across the figures in motion until a dash of movemnt in the same fucking color moved and appeared from behind a puff of smoke as someone respawned.

They had the same mask, smiling in eternal mischief, just smeared in blood and something dark that stained the corners. Same clothes, same apparent height but yet-

_ yet- _

They moved differently. Movements arching more, as if they were heavier or as if they did not fully know their body. as if- as if  _ they were new to the body _ \- and he remembered the words host and vessel many a times from the journal so forcefully throwing himself high above everything he dashed across the clearing, startling everyone and pushing many of them a few steps back at the onslaught of wind that he left behind.

The first sight of green, that was what he was after and as his wings spread fully, ceasing his movement in place for a brief moment as he landed he let the inertia shove him right next to the soldier fallen and what he realised now were uncontrollable sobs as they violently shook the kid’s frame, and  _ that was the worst of it, wasn’t it? _ he thought as he could now see clearly the way Sapnap clung tightly,  _ desperately _ , to Dream. They were  _ kids  _ made soldiers, kids in a war they made themselves without aid or support, just their own backs to carry the horrors of conflict.

Softly he opened his bag and retrieved several regeneration potions, glistening liquid glowing in the dark between their bodies and passed them to George. The kid looked startled still from his sudden appearance and hesitated before taking the bottles in his own arms.

“Spread them out, George” he said as kindly as he could. Mismatched eyes locked to his brother’s form as he weeped still and his face faltered at the sight. “Make sure they dilute them so they can last” he instructed him when they were back on his face. With a shaky nod he left.

Core shaken, fear in his heart, he left his brothers into the night.

Philza let himself regain composure- as much as he could with the grieving cries of a kid next to him- and steeled himself to try and remove the body from the other’s arms.

He had made Ramboo and Techno read him the journal as he flew them through the Nether. No matter how rambly and nonsensical most of the notations were, there was still a point to be made across the pages: there was still a chance that Dream could survive this.

Part of his mind, the hysterical one that he tried to shove deep and  _ away _ yelled at him to  _ look at him, he’s dead, a corpse fallen, gone just like Wilbur! _ but he kept his head above water -albeit his hands started shaking - and seeing as Sap would not be calming any time soon he started checking what he could.

Dream face sported a few more differences from when he saw him earlier that day - and wasn’t it crazy? the fact that he had talked to this child, had seen him alive, with color in his cheeks and a soft smile on his lips, so fucking contrasting with the paleness and the scars he now discerned against the skin. His eyes were closed, the smallest of mercies, and he seemed blissfully asleep, face slightly slack against Sapnap’s shoulder.

Forcing himself to move his gaze he stopped at the gaping, bloody, holes on Dream’s chest. Still sluggish oozing blood-

He blinked a few times and leaned over to get a closer look-

____

His breathing stuttered when he finally broke from the lower branches of the fading forest. He could hear Ramboo panting and trying to not puke as he stopped a few paces from him, not even long legs could match Techno’s worry. And it seemed founded when he saw a man wearing his friend's mask and body- it looked  _ wrong _ , twisted in the way it moved, alien in how the mask had what seemed an ongoing black stain. Their eyes met across the clearing and the smile of the mask widened and the black dots curved as if demonstrating joy and delight. It was  _ wrong _ and fury started licking at his heels, and could feel brimstone wanting to spit molten lava from his ribcage as the creature started running towards him.

They met in the middle.

He could feel the strain of the blades as they clashed against each other, could feel the bloodlust and power coming from the mimic and he snarled as he pushed himself forward, breaking the point of tension and making the other fall back.

“ _ Nightmare _ ” he spat, voice scathing and a little bit twisted at the unbidden growl that came from within him.

“So you know about me, bacon boy. Do tell me  _ how” _

He saw the way everyone moved and placed themselves in a circle around them, at least the ones that could still fight, and he stabilized his stance, readjusting the hold of his sword.

Now, this was still Dream’s body he was fighting so he couldn’t really do too much harm and the lack of Phil’s presence in the battlefield meant he was probably helping the injured. He would have to disable the thing in front of him. How, he didn't know, but for sure he was going to try.

“Cat got your tongue?” the creature said in a mocking tone, lowering his body slightly- as if his muscles were strained- and widening his stance “Or is it that you are scared of harming your little boyfriend?”

He kept himself in his position and carefully made sure his face was blank and empty of anything that the thing before him could use.

The thing clicked his tongue in a tutting manner, leaning his head back in an angle as if looking down on him “Don’t really know why the boy liked you so much, you seem as plain as the other furry” and before he could try and discern who he was talking about he was forced to block another attack, blade of a sword clashing against his in a sudden shower of sparks.

“You are strong, Technoblade” and he  _ hated it- he was using his laugh, disgracing his looks and existence, tainting his memory with the loveless words _ -corrupting the man that kissed him and seemingly jump started his heart in his own fucking stable- “Maybe I’ll make it quick so you two can meet again in death, how does that sound?”

As he saw the minimal movement on the other's hand he shot his arm forwards and pivoted to the right, effectively moving away from the sudden appearance of another blade as he blocked the other. parrying off each other they started to attack in almost cyclical movements and it felt so  _ wrong _ . The air started feeling heavy with something like smoke and the force behind the mimic’s attacks started gaining force, still as different from Dream’s as they could be, but tainted with something oppressive still.

They circled each other with no reprieve making another attack from outside impossible, their deadly dance too fast to be able to accurately make a shot or try and gain the upper hand-

He was getting tired-

And as he swiped to the other and the creature flipped backwards he saw the tension and light stumble before tightening himself and he realised that the other was as well- it meant that he was bound somehow to laws of the body he hosted and he himself was sturdier in close combat, his muscles trained to resist hit after hits- But Dream was not, entirely built for a different way of resistance, of stamina and deliriously he realised that the creature was not as sharp minded as his friend, that he didn't know how to properly use his assets beyond muscle memory in any kind of battle-

He could win.

So catching his breath and with renewed vigor he launched himself, fast as a bullet towards his opponent and met him head-on.

He  _ would _ win.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> H̶̳͊ë̴͔́l̷̢̎l̶̖̃o̴̠̓?̷̦̕ ̴̧̆I̷͚̓'̴̮́m̵͆ͅ ̵̹̈́h̸̰e̵̬͛r̷̯̉e̸͚̓!̴̛̝  
> \--  
> Thank you so much for the comments and support. Special thanks to @mossquire as your last comment gave me the little push to take myself out of my bad funk <3.

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first Fanfic and English ain't my first lenguage so don't kill me. I accept constructive criticism~


End file.
